The Differences Between LDL Cholesterol and APOB

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Introduction:

Discordance between low-density lipoprotein particle (LDL-p) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) occurs when the levels of these two biomarkers do not match up as expected. Discordance between Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is similar, except rather than counting just LDL particles, ApoB is a measure of the numbers of lipoproteins that have an ApoB attached.

Discordance between ApoB and LDL-C can lead to either an underestimate or overestimate of ASCVD risk. And therefore there may be important implications for someone who does have discordance. Additionally, it is such cases that suggest that a measurement of ApoB may provide additional information beyond traditional lipid measures in assessing a person’s cardiovascular risk.

Recent work from researchers at Liverpool John Moores University has investigated whether discordance is associated with certain dietary patterns.

In this episode, one of the researchers involved, Dr. Ian Davies, is on the podcast to discuss this work in addition to wider questions in the diet-lipids-CVD field that remain to be answered.